MAKING WAVES

Mega-Cruise Smackdown: Photos

Ship Stats: Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship—weighing in at 225,282 tons, with a total capacity of 6,296 passengers.
(Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Ship Stats: Norwegian's Epic, which weighs 155,873 tons and has a total capacity of 5,183, sets sail from Miami.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Notable First:Oasis's Central Park is the first open-air park at sea and has more than 12,000 trees and plants (including fern pine and golden bamboo), as well as gardens of calla lilies and rabbit's foot ferns.
(Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Notable First:Epic's Svedka is the first-ever ice bar at sea. Parkas are loaned out at the door to patrons (maximum capacity: 25), and the $20 cover charge includes two Svedka-based cocktails.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Awesome Entertainment: The entertainment lineup on Oasis includes free diving and synchronized swimming spectaculars at the AquaTheater.
(Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Awesome Entertainment: Acrobatic performances like this Cirque Dreams and Dinner show in the Spiegel Tent are a regular fixture on Epic.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Exciting Kid-Friendly Fun:Epic caters to kids with a twice-weekly Nickelodeon Slime Time Live event, dance parties with Dora the Explorer, and a game room with a giant Nintendo Wii wall.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Adrenaline-Pumping Thrills: Cruisers on Oasis can surf or boogie board on two FlowRider simulated surfing platforms—80 feet above the ocean.
(Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Adrenaline-Pumping Thrills: Cruisers on Epic can go bungee jumping, scale a 2,112-square-foot climbing wall with a waterslide that cuts right through it to a swimming pool below, or climb the Spider Web, a 24-foot-tall enclosed cage.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Comfortable Cabins: An ocean-view stateroom on the Oasis, where the average cabin size is 182 square feet.
(Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Comfortable Cabins: An inside stateroom on the Epic, where the average cabin size is 216 square feet.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Satisfying Dining Choices: 150 Central Park, one of 24 restaurants on the Oasis.
(Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Satisfying Dining Choices: The noodle bar at Shanghai's, a Chinese restaurant on the Epic, one of 20 available dining options.
(Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)

Recent Features

From Cape Cod to the Great Lakes, from Southern California to the Gulf of Mexico, America’s beaches stay open long after the summer crowds have gone home. It’s the same sun and surf—oh, except that you've got some elbow room and hotel rates have come back down to earth!